On Monday the 7th, at the Committee of the Whole meeting we discussed several important issues. The first was a discussion on the maintenance of our 186 ponds. Since my first election, we have discovered that our roads, parks, vehicles and buildings were neglected for decades. The ponds are no different and will require significant resources to bring them back to an acceptable condition. Fourteen ponds received the lowest rating and will be the immediate focus at an estimated cost of $5.6 million. We will develop a five-year plan to get everything to an acceptable condition. Just like our other infrastructure, our goal is to get to a steady state so things can be maintained on a regular basis.
The second issue we discussed was an annexation study to look at unincorporated properties throughout the village. The problem with these properties is the village often provides significant services (road access, police, snow removal, etc.) with no property tax dollars from those residents to support those services. This is unfair to village residents who are paying for these services. Additionally, some of these properties are neglected and others could build something that does not fit Orland Park’s zoning. For this reason, we are looking at options to annex these properties and decided to begin with approaching the land owners to seek a voluntary annexation agreement which has benefits for both the village and the property owners.
Lastly, we had an update on state road flooding. This has been a source of frustration for the village and our residents. As we all know, we have flooding on SW Highway, on 143rd St and on Wolf Road. The Southwest Highway project is on track to start this fall with a new culvert being put in even sooner. As you are aware, we worked with the Cook County Forest Preserve to drain McGinnis Slough to lower levels, which helped reduce flooding the past year and a half. Wolf Road and 143rd Street were both engineered over a decade ago and IDOT has refused to fund the projects.
The project on 143rd street has been our number one priority and is also the number one priority for the regional conference of mayors. Will County also supports the project. We have broken the project into three sections and the portion of the project in the flooded area is shovel ready (almost completely done with Phase II engineering). For this section, we even offered a jurisdictional transfer to the village to encourage the project to be funded. The state received over $1.5 billion for infrastructure as part of ARPA and should fund the project. However, we have also applied for infrastructure money from the federal government (they have already paid for a significant portion of the engineering).
For the most recent flooding, IDOT was not planning to open the road until April when they pulled their equipment out of winter storage. The village used its resources and equipment to open the road. If the state simply funded this project, which has been on the books for over 15 years, the problem would be solved. We are not passing the buck here and we continue to aggressively push the state.
The notable item from the regular board meeting was the board’s resolution that included a vote of no confidence in Kim Foxx, a request that she resign, and an ask of other towns and villages to do the same. The data is clear that she has failed to do her job. My comments can be viewed here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbsOZquSeOY&t=2s
Yesterday, the village held an event to accept donations and deliver to Ukrainian refugees. I was overwhelmed and inspired by the support shown by Orland Park residents as we filled up over 80% of a 53-foot semi-trailer. These donations will be in Poland within a week to be distributed to refugees. The willingness of Americans to give during difficult times never ceases to amaze me. Thank you to all of the donors and volunteers who packaged all of the goods.
I encourage all of you to tune in to the board meeting this Monday night at 7PM as we will be honoring Orland Park resident and Carl Sandburg H.S. alum, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Captain of the U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team. We will also be honoring Police Chief Joe Mitchell, who will be retiring on March 25th, for his outstanding service.
From the Campaign Trail
On March 7th, I filed over 2,450 petition signatures for the office of U.S. Congress in Congressional District 6 which represents the majority of Orland Park. I want to thank the 75 volunteers who helped get signatures. We filed double the signatures of any of our competitors, and several of them had to pay circulators while ours were all collected by supporters like you. This is a testimony to the strength and depth of our support.
Please let us know if you are interested in volunteering or placing a sign in your yard at https://www.keithpekau.com/volunteer/
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